As is recognized in fashion circles, the combination of certain colors with other colors may be attractive or unattractive depending upon the colors used in combination. The ability to select pleasing color combinations is an important skill with applications in selecting the colors of clothing and accessories as well as in other areas such as home decorating. Home decorating applications include the selection of appropriate colors for furniture upholstery, drapes, paint color for interior walls, wallpaper, and other applications such as selection of decoration, e.g., flowers.
Attempts have been made to assist individuals who are deficient in color coordinating skills. Examples of past attempts include U.S. Pat. No. 1,718,919 to Fitzgibbon for a merchandising tag provided with a color harmony chart adapted to be attached to color fabric articles such as hosiery. U.S. Pat. No. 1,733,539 to Hertel discloses color cards for attractively displaying samples of material of different colors and for identifying such colors by name or number. Another patent for color coordination is U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,062 to Stables, which teaches a fabric matching method.
It has additionally been recognized that certain colors are more appealing on some individuals than the colors on other individuals. The degree of attractiveness depends upon certain personal characteristics of an individual, known as "color contrast intensities", such as skin tone, hair color, and eye color. Attempts to assist individuals in choosing a color that is harmonious with the individual's color contrast intensities is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,632 to McFarlan and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,850 to Fabbri.
Despite the importance of selecting items that are color coordinated with one another as well as selecting items that are harmonious with an individual's color contrast intensity, many individuals do not possess the skills to select or determine what is necessary for appropriate color harmonization. The psychological benefits associated with proper color selection include increased self-esteem and improved confidence. Consequently, there exists a need for a method of selecting the appropriate color for the many items requiring color coordination. The method selecting colors should remove the uncertainty, guess work, and confusion experienced by the many people with poor color grouping or color harmonizing skills. Such a method would additionally benefit individuals afflicted with color blindness and would enable a color blind person to feel confident that he or she has selected items of appropriate colors. Similarly, since the preferred embodiment of the method of the invention utilizes symbols in addition to wording, the invention additionally benefits individuals who cannot read or who have little or no knowledge of the English language.
In another aspect of the present invention, the manufacturer of an article can provide information on the article which will guide the customer in coordinating separate items which will produce a style the manufacturer desires and recommends. By utilizing the style classification on articles manufacturer maintains greater control of his items, thereby promoting the statement he desires to make to the fashion industry.
By this style augmented system of color selection, items produced by a different manufacturer can easily be matched to produce a preselected appearance desired by the customer. Additionally, the style augmented system permits the customer to maintain a preselected style while matching multiple items to his particular physical appearance or desires.